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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Averlorn Campaign: The Maw of Torment

Recap from 1/4/2011

The Pass at Hell’s Peak lies near the small town of Herrari and connects Medea’s Gate to Limus Town. Travelers often take the long route around the mountains or take a boat ride down the river to avoid the dangerous creatures and inhabitants of this pass. It is located near the giant statue to Hephaestus which looks back with hammer poised to strike towards the frontier lands around Limus Town at the edge of Theban civilization. The ruins of Hell’s Peak are located below the giant statue and contain ruins of an ancient keep or fortress city on the high ground that dominates the pass. This strategic location was the home of some ancient civilization that used its heights to fend off invaders or to control commerce through the pass long ago.

We had heard many rumors of the Maw of Torment but couldn't find out from anyone where it was actually located. When Wilfred was in the stocks, he was accosted by a Paladin of Apollo right in front of Lucias who was watching over him. The Paladin's name was Torian Demeri from the famous and wealthy Demeri family in Medea's Gate and a member of the Prophets of Apollo, a zealous order of Paladins bent on stamping out evil. He accused Wilfred and the surgeons of causing the zombie problem in Limus Town and swore that he was going to the Maw of Torment to stamp out the members of his guild that he was sure were using the dungeon there as a base of operations to cause all of the trouble. Wilfred swore to us that this was not the case but that it was more than likely the Gatherers of the One True text and Miligro Conje’ who were behind the zombie attacks, since after all, they had framed him which resulted in him being put in the stocks in the town square. He also said that the Paladin was probably questing for a magical sword in the ruins at the Maw of Torment. So, we surmised, the Maw of Torment may be located near the ruins below the giant statue of Hephaestus near the pass since we found the horse with Torian Demeri's livery on it near there. We headed out to the ruins to search for the legendary dungeon and more loot.

Before we left, we found out a bit more information about the place. The Maw of Torment was supposedly a legendary lair of necromancers but its location and entrance are a well guarded secret and are unknown to most people. The legend says that in the Hall of the Blind one will find only madness and death and that only the bold or those chosen by the gods can survive there. We found out that it was rumored that a necromancer resides in the lowest depths of the catacombs where the maw erodes and torments souls until all hope is lost. The rumors go on to say that souls are drawn there to be sent on their way to the underworld and that an entrance to Hell, Hades or Elysium can be accessed from its deepest levels.

So we set off for the ruins and came upon an eerie spectacle. The ruins of some great citadel were perched on the great hill above but the strange part was the stone statues frozen in place all around it. They were poised as if ready to strike at the occupants of the citadel long ago before they were somehow, through magical or monstrous means, turned into stone. These were no ordinary or artistic statues - they were incredibly lifelike in their visage and consisted of all manner of monsters including quite a few orcs and ogres and some larger ones like dragons and griffins. It was as if a great and epic battle had taken place and someone or something at the top of the hill had turned the attackers into stone long ago before they could climb the hill to attack them. We found a path leading off to one side that looked like it had been used recently so we decided to follow it. It led away from the hill to a place where a great stone dragon was poised face down into the ground. It looked like the dragon statue had been moved somewhat recently and it was very suspicious. The party searched the area and Brummbar, the dwarf cleric, found a secret door with steps leading down. It appeared that we had found an entrance to the Maw of Torment!

So we descended into the depths of the legendary dungeon and fought through all manner of creatures there such as a black widow spider, a large group of demonic hobgoblins, a room full of hanging skeletons, some ghouls and ghasts, a wight, a green slime and finally a large group of devilish lemures. We eventually found the glyph we were looking for at the end of a long hallway and dispelled it after fighting yet another creature there that we weren't quite sure about (it was probably a mimic). Marut thought the Gatherers had put the glyph there in order to send zombies through to kill the helpless Wilfred in the night while he was in stocks to shut him up about their activities in the depths of the Maw of Torment. Essentially, the group managed to foil their plans and even ended up with a pretty good haul of loot to boot. We also discovered why everyone was so tight lipped about the Maw of Torment - it was loaded with treasure of all sorts such as coins, gems and all manner of jewelry! We also found evidence of several lost religions of the Old Gods inscribed on the walls which explains the interest of the Gatherers at the place. Some of the lost texts of the Old Gods that they seek are located within its ancient halls along with all manner of other diabolical and monstrous creatures...